Waterhouse Inquiry under investigation

A high court judge, Mrs Justice Macur, is starting work on what the Home Secretary says will be an an urgent investigation into whether the Waterhouse Inquiry into child abuse of children in care in north Wales did its job properly. This response to allegations that a paedophile ring centred on the Bryn Estyn home near Wrexham involved a cabinet minister has been made in a matter of days.

It's a sign of changing attitudes to the credibility of claims by people who say they were abused as children that the UK government has moved so swiftly. The Waterhouse inquiry was only set up after years of claims and unsuccessful investigations. When the report was published in February 2000 it was widely welcomed and praised for its thoroughness and for its recommendations. When the First Minister met the Children's Commissioner to discuss the latest developments, he recognised that progress was made as result of the Waterhouse report.

Both of us fully recognised that the care of children and young people, and the voices of the victims of child abuse, must be central to the investigations underway. We also recognise progress has been made as a result of the recommendations in the Waterhouse Inquiry, not least the creation of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales.

During our talks Keith Towler confirmed that his office is actively dealing with a number of people who have contacted him since the weekend.The office of the Commissioner is wholly independent, and that is why I would again urge anyone who has any relevant information or concerns to come forward and contact Keith and his team.

Keith Towler will now meet with representatives appointed by the UK Government to understand further their proposed course of action and explore what role his office could have in this process.

– Carwyn Jones AM, First Minister

Fresh allegations about a cover-up have led to claims that the Waterhouse Inquiry didn't ask the right questions or was too restricted by the terms of reference it was given by the Welsh Secretary, Williams Hague. They were:

to inquire into the abuse of children in care in the former county council areas of Gwynedd and Clwyd since 1974

to examine whether the agencies and authorities responsible for such care, through the placement of the children or through the regulation or management of the facilities, could have prevented the abuse or detected its occurrence at an earlier stage

to examine the response of the relevant authorities and agencies to allegations and complaints of abuse made either by children in care, children formerly in care or any other persons, excluding scrutiny of decisions whether to prosecute named individuals in the light of this examination

to consider whether the relevant caring and investigative agencies discharged their functions appropriately and, in the case of the caring agencies, whether they are doing so now; and to report its findings and to make recommendations to him

The decision not to look at decisions to prosecute reflects the belief at the time that child abuse allegations were often impossible to prove. Sir Ronald Waterhouse didn't name alleged abusers in his report, unless they had already been identified in court proceedings. This was not to avoid prejudicing any future trials but because he thought no such trials would take place. Here's how Sir Ronald described the problem:

The difficulty of prosecuting individuals for specific paedophile offences alleged to have occurred many years ago on the testimony of the complainant alone or with the aid of only vulnerable corroborative evidence.

– 'LOST IN CARE' REPORT, FEBRUARY 2000

The very different climate today is illustrated by the very different treatment of Steve Messham. He says he wasn't even allowed to make his most serious allegations to the Waterhouse inquiry about what happened to him. Now he's had an urgent meeting with the Secretary of State for Wales to discuss his claims.

I am grateful to Mr Messham for meeting with me today. I have had the opportunity to listen to him and I hope that he feels reassured by the Government's response and the action now being taken. We discussed the announcement made today by the Home Secretary and the investigations that will now be launched.

He has welcomed the involvement of the Director General of the National Crime Agency, Keith Bristow, to lead the review the historic police investigation, and to investigate the new allegations of historic abuse at the North Wales care homes.

This investigation, coupled with that into the Waterhouse Inquiry, announced by the Prime Minister yesterday underlines this Government's commitment to ensure that it will do everything in its power to help the victims and get to the bottom of the terrible allegations.